Yipee, it’s summer time in the Philippines!
While a vacation is something to smile about, the heat isn’t.
So how do you get active toddlers, pre-schoolers and school-age kids to stay cool despite Mr. Sun’s glare? Have them feast on the following foods which are also called “cooling food.”
1. Fruits
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
Watermelon |
Oranges |
Pears |
Grapes |
Bananas |
|
Melons |
Lemons |
Peaches |
Berries |
Dried Fruits |
|
Cantaloupes |
Apples |
Star Fruits |
| Column 1 | Are made-up of over 90% water; excellent for keeping hydrated |
| Column 2, 3, 4 | Contains antioxidants and water |
| Column 5 | Contains potassium which helps the body regulate fluids lost after sweating |
{Easy and fun fruit recipes kids will love: Apples || Bananas || Watermelons}
2. Spices
| Mint | Fennel | Cilantro |
| Tumeric | Basil | Cardamon |
| Dill | Cumin | Ginger |
These are known in ancient China and India as cooling food.
3. Others
| Green Leafy Veggies | These have high water content and help release body heat |
| Spciy Food | Sweating is the body’s way of keeping cool (a pinch of heat, as long as kids can take it, is good) |
| Coconut Water | Contains electrolytes which hydrates the body |
| Whole Wheat | Contains magnesium which helps the body keep a more stable temperature |
Keep your kids hydrated and happy this summer by giving them meals and snacks that contain lots of the food mention above. Their bodies will thank you for it.
Is there anything missing from the list? Tell us by leaving a comment below.
Oh and remember to forward this to your friends and family so they can keep their kids from overheating during this hot season.
About Anne Mercado
This is good to know, thanks for sharing Anne.
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You’re welcome, Pamela! It’s been extremely hot here in Manila so I’d like to make sure kids stay hydrated and cool.
Nice list!
It’s actually interesting when you think about it, fruit is craved in the summer (for adults too), what an amazing thing, since they cool you. 
Neat article!
Oh the Muck!
It is actually! It’s interesting to know you can cut up fruits for the kids to keep them hydrated. It beats nagging them to drink plain old water.
Wow…I’ve never even heard of “cooling” foods before…so this was a great eye opener for me! Thanks!
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You’re welcome and it’s great that you learned something new. Hope your weight loss journey is going well. Will visit your site to see your updates soon.
Oh, the unforgiving heat! Tell me about it!
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Yup! That’s why you can munch on these to keep cool.
Very interesting -especially about the spicy food cooling the body!
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It is actually. Love how we can use food to cure or help us with certain things. When you think about it, before chemical-laden medicine, the ancient world used food and plants to make people feel better.
That’s interesting that some people never heard of “cooling” foods before–I guess since I grew up in Asia I heard a lot about “cool” and “hot” foods! Thanks for the list!
I’m actually from Asia but I didn’t hear of cooling food before this. Maybe it would be a different story if I were from China or India.
Ha, maybe. I grew up mainly in Thailand and also spent a few years in China!
That explains it! I’m from the Philippines and we’re not too big on cooling food but at least now I know. Was surprised to learn about spices being able to cool the body though.
How about some ice cream to cool off? Well, I guess it’s not as healthy as those fruits on your list
… Or maybe mixing fruits in ice cream?
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Ice cream actually warms you. The body tries to compensate for the cold ice cream entering your body by producing more heat.
Sweating cools the body which is why, odd as it sounds, eating spicy food helps you cool down.
Mangoes not on the list?
Great post!
Do you know some Chinese say Watermelon actually is warm in the body?
Caught a typo in the Spices chart — “Basic”, I think you mean “Basil”?
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Mangoes contain 80% water so they’re good too. About watermelon warming the body, I haven’t come across that yet but it’s very interesting that some Chinese say it does the opposite of cooling the body. What I do know is that because of it’s high water content, it keeps the body hydrated.
Corrected the spelling of basil already and thank you for pointing it out. I’ve been waiting for the day when someone would call me out on errors, haha. I appreciate it!
I have to check that watermelon trivia from my mom and in-law haha…
I also appreciate readers correcting me on typos, etc.!
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Sige and I’ll look around the web too.